Self-assembling nanotubes: next generation in self-cleaning windows

Arrays of self-assembling nanotubes for self-cleaning glass in development at Tel Aviv University could be the next step in self-cleaning skyscraper and car windows and solar panels that repel water and dirt. Already, titanium dioxide nanoparticles are used to make self-cleaning windows sold by PPG, Pilkington, Andersen and Saint-Gobain. But the self-assembling nature of nanotubes could give this technology a serious boost.

"The self-assembly is carried out under high temperatures and in a vacuum. The peptide is as simple as that of aspertame, the artificial sweetener," research team member Lihi Adler-Abramovich said. The nanotubes have the ability to organize themselves to look like "forests" of artificial grass and are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water and dust particles.

Windows treated with the new technology would not attract dust, and when it rained, any residual dirt would drop off without leaving a trace. Glass solar panels, whose efficiency is greatly reduced by dust because the solar radiation has to filter through, could repel dust if made of ordinary glass with the nanotech coating, said Adler-Abramovich.

Comments

[gmarris]

gmarris...

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[Green Cleaning]

Fascinating. I think this a great solution for green living. Are there any images available explaining how the process works?